14 Oct 2019

First Lady Neo Masisi last week concluded her three-months long cross-country road show in conjunction with the National AIDS and Health Promotion Agency (NAHPA)

The road show was held under the theme: The last sprint towards eradicating HIV and AIDS by 2030.

Addressing Maiteko Junior Secondary School pupils in Mabutsane, Ms Masisi said the focus should be on the youth, especially pupils for the country to achieve the national vision pillar to eliminate new infections by 2030.

She said it was vital for prevention messages to be preached to pupils on a regular basis.

“This is more so that research indicates that HIV/AIDS is now more of a behavioural problem. So we need to talk more with the children to change their behaviour for the better. We need to make them understand the risks of such behaviour because most of them do things out of innocence of the consequences,” she said.

Ms Masisi said the age bracket of 15-24 made up about half of the total infected population with the statistics continuing to rise. She said it called for all stakeholders, including parents, leaders and pupils to join hands.

She said the main issues of concern when dealing with HIV and AIDS among the youth include, inter-generational relationships, teenage pregnancies, early sexual debut and risky behaviour.

She said it should be easier for the youth to grasp the HIV and AIDS messages prevention since they were born into the era when the message was all over unlike earlier generations.

Ms Masisi also said 2030 was just around the corner, raising the need to go into a sprint to realise the country’s vision. She also informed pupils that the best way to solve poverty at household level was to take their studies seriously and get well-paying jobs.

“Sugar mummies and daddies are not a way of getting out of poverty, and instead, they can only bring consequences such as pregnancies and diseases,” she said.

She also said some challenges such as alcohol and drug abuse did not need any laws, but just self-discipline. She urged pupils to report any cases of sexual abuse against them or anyone they knew to the relevant authorities.

Ms Masisi was adding to some pupils suggestions that bad behaviour that led to HIV and AIDS prevalence was due to too much alcohol, which they said should be banned in the country.

Maiteko JSS pupil representative council vice president, Palesa Bele appreciated Ms Masisi for choosing to visit their school from the many across the country, and that it was their hope that her inspiration would touch many pupils and help them change for the better.

She also implored her to continue her noble job across other schools in the country.

Still on the same day, Ms Masisi addressed the village leadership at the kgotla and later members of the community where she implored them to guard against complacency, as it would be a drawback to the county’s efforts against the pandemic.

She also warned them that it was a criminal offence for one to fail to report sexual abuse that they were aware of.

For his part, the national coordinator for NAHPA, Mr Richard Matlhare said more than 370 000 Batswana currently live with HIV, and that there were concerns that after the success of ARVs, there has been complacency among the people, especially the youth.

He said Ms Masisi found it fit to take up the challenge and start the campaign, dubbed #Di Palametse and tour the country. He said the tour was divided into three, being a pep-talk with pupils, the village leadership and the rest of the community. ENDs